A conversation.

Christmas

December 23, 2011

And finally, our most viewed napkin fold from our United Linen YouTube channel, the Crown fold. I'm not quite sure what makes this design the most popular...maybe it's the points that come down and give the overall design more of a complex look. What do you think?

We do know the Crown fold is easy to set up and sets the stage for a dramatic presentation for your table.

Here is our 3rd most popular napkin fold as of this week, the Ice Cream Cone fold. Although ice cream may not be what everyone thinks when they think of Christmas, this design is still adds a decorative flair to any place setting.

December 19, 2011

If you use any of the napkin folds presented here in the United Linen blog, let us know how your's turned out. Send a picture and we'll post it here to help you show off your mad holiday decorating skills.

I've reached into the United Linen video vault and pulled out this gem.

Just in time to help dress up your dining room table(s), today's napkin folding video is our 8th most popular (I figured I would got from #8 to #1 over the course of this week) and has been a crowd-pleaser ever since we posted the video. The Boot fold can be used to place in the plate and place a placecard in the upper portion of the "boot" Granted, the fold is a bit tedious, but the final product is sure to please your guests. So here it is...The Boot Fold

December 13, 2010

This video will help explain how our delivery schedule will work, in general, for the next two weeks starting Dec, 20th. Some of you may not experience any change in delivery times. Be sure to check the back of your invoices this week to find out for sure.

As always, if you have any questions or need more information, please check with your route driver, call us at 800-259-6808 or send us an email at admin@unitedlinen.com . Remember you can Follow us on Twitter and Find us on Facebook.

January 07, 2010

With the temperatures plunging as I type (35 right now) I had a minute to share some thoughts of last Christmas Eve, only 2 weeks ago. While the impact of the snow was great across much of the state, it was particularly dreadful in the Oklahoma City area, with 14" falling in a very short amount of time.

The United Linen route drivers who work in OKC were aware of the upcoming snow storm and had the foresight to get an earlier start on Christmas Eve than usual. Bryon Long, the Area Route Manager even came in earlier than usual to help the drivers get loaded and out as fast as possible.

But as the day wore on and the snow continued to come down with a driving wind, Oklahoma City was fast becoming a wasteland of snowdrifts and stuck cars.

With the National Guard being called in Bryon made a call for all remaining trucks (4) to return to the depot.

The 4 trucks that were the farthest out were in for an unbelievable fight to get back. Of course everyone was thinking about being home for Christmas. One of the drivers was a new father and was looking forward to his baby's first Christmas. So the thought of not making it home never crossed anyone's mind...until the reality of traffic jams, gridlock, jack-knifed trucks, snow and ice started setting in. In one instance, it took one driver on the north side of Oklahoma City 9 hrs to get to the south side. One driver was stuck behind a jack-knifed truck for 4 hours. The city had come to a literal standstill.

Eventually the routes that made it in to the depot were able to leave for home and made the trip home safely. 2 of the four routes that had been stranded in the gridlock, finally made it back to the depot and were able to dig their cars out from under the tremendous snow drifts to go home. The final 2 routes were diverted to go straight to their homes and bypass trying to get to the depot. They finally made it home, one at 8:30 and the other at 11:30. It had been a long day.

Once everyone was home and the decision had been made to divert the final 2 routes, Because he could not get his truck out of the parking lot, Bryon reloaded a United Linen truck full of linen for the added weight, and plowed his way home. He too finally made it back to his house (getting stuck only once 1 mile from his house) by about 11:30. That's a long day when you start at 4 am.

I asked Bryon what the hardest part of the day was and he said it was trying to get around all the stalled, stuck and abandoned cars in the road. "The snow wasn't so bad, it was the maze of cars that made it hard to get around."

Even in the midst of the catastrophic climate, only 5 customers were not reached. And on Saturday after Christmas, the fearsome foursome came back to the dept, fired up their trucks and got those handful of customers taken care of as well.

While driving on the treacherous roads, no truck caused an accident. And only one car slid into one of our trucks, with little to no damage to our truck. Our drivers did an outstanding job of staying on task, staying true to the mission, taking care of their property and concerning themselves with their safety and the safety of those driving around them.

The OKC team has affectionately nicknamed their trucks, SnowBeasts.

This last Christmas Eve will be a day our Oklahoma City team will never forget. We will never forget their teamwork, commitment to safety and determination to get our customers taken care of.

Hats off to the OKC United Linen & Uniform Services Crew for going above and beyond the call of duty to serve their customers and each other. They truly survived the Blizzard of 2009.